plastic flange/ overheating

[HuGo]

Originally Posted by rgirl

I know, but I'd JUST checked it 3 or 4 minutes prior!!! it should beep! pardon my frustration, I'm just pissed this is happening right now... I can think of alot better ways to spend 2 grand that I don't have.

ill take your car if you dont want it?

[rgirl]

Originally Posted by 1996Bmw318TI

ill take your car if you dont want it?

hey, I have an idea- wanna trade? I'll take yours with the DASC and you can have mine!

[HuGo]

Originally Posted by rgirl

hey, I have an idea- wanna trade? I'll take yours with the DASC and you can have mine!

Sure if you want to. Remember you live over the hill from me. You just need to tow it out of here.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by German Luger

Tyler it did happen to me and I didn't pay half that for repairs maybe it was a hook up or my lucky day I don't know. The service was done by a BMW master tech. at East Coast Exoctics here in Virginia smart @$$.

Here you go german lugey..

Connector #11-53-1-743-679
Heater Hose #64-21-1-394-295
Breather Hose #11-15-1-247-903
Heater Hose #64-21-1-394-291
Bmw Coolant $25 ouch...
Parts total $99.10
Grand total $669.83


Done by Master mechanic What does this master mechanic charge for labor

[pnosker]

It might be cheaper to get a replacement motor or something... if you do the labor yourself.

[HuGo]

Like shes really going to do the work herself.

Anyway, rgirl, if you plan on buying a replacement engine (500-950 dollars), i can ask my dad to do the work for you for a much lesser price than M shop would do it for, to swap over engines.

[Bam2002]

Make sure you have the system bled. All the air is out.. You may not have a warped head/ blown head gasket.

The way to tell is see if there is oil in your cooling system. Or if your engine OIL is milky, brownish. If you have this they yes you have a head issue.

But a bad waterpump or air in the system will cause the car to overheat.

I just replaced the rear plastic section. It took me about 3 hours. But I also did plugs and some parts cleaning. I didnt bleed the system correctly and the car got hot within 2 miles.. I shut it down and let it cool off. then bled the system and now its fine.


B

[DustenT]

Bleeding the system is very important.


HOW TO BLEED YOUR COOLING SYSTEM:
It really helps to have a friend lend a hand by sitting in the car revving the motor and keeping an eye on the temp gauge. Start off by removing the coolant reservoir cap and the plastic bleeder screw right next to it. Fill the coolant reservoir with a 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water. Have your friend start the car, turn on the heater to full hot on the vent position and rev the motor to about 2500 RPM, if the temp gauge goes past the 12 o'clock position, shut the motor off, let it cool down and start over again. Watch the coolant reservoir, as the engine warms up the coolant level should drop, refill as the coolant is sucked out of the reservoir. Watch the bleeder screw hole also, when coolant with no air bubbles begins to overflow then you're almost done. It's a good idea to have some paper towels handy to mop up any overflow. Screw the bleeder screw back in (be careful to not break the plastic screw) and continue to rev the motor, you should see a continuous stream of coolant spraying in to the reservoir from the small hole at the top. Continue letting that spray in to the reservoir while your friend revs the motor for a couple of minutes to ensure any remaining air is gone. If the heater is blowing hot air when you're revving the motor AND when the engine is at idle then your cooling system is properly bled. If your vents are blowing cool air at idle then you still have air in the system, try revving the motor more and/or squeeze the radiator hoses to help dislodge any trapped air. Once your system is fully bled, top off the reservoir and replace the cap. Check the coolant level in a day or two and top off as needed. (Courtesy of Understeer.com)

[rgirl]

well, I asked the M shop if they bled the system properly, and they assured me they did and that the problem was with the 2nd head, that water was leaking out of it? at any rate, I'm having it towed to the shop the guy who sold it to me uses, and his mechanic is going to have a look at it and do the work for much less. mechanic #2 told me that he might be able to tell whether or not this engine had any damage to it prior to me buying the car, in which case, the guy who I bought the car from would swap me out into a different car..... so complicated! but I'm hoping this is the case, as I really don't wanna spend a bunch more money on repairs! (and 1996Bmw318TI, THANK YOU so much for the dad offer, I will definitely keep that in mind and keep you posted after I hear back from the 2nd mechanic guy!)

thank you everybody for all of the info, it's much appreciated!

[HuGo]

Well look at this way. Your engine might not be so healthy no more if it went to the red area. You might have some internal parts damaged or fried a little. Im not sure how many miles your engine has. If your going to spend more than 1,500 in trying to fix the problem (which the engine might already been hurt from the over heat) i would suggest to buy another engine that is healthy. You might fix it, then a few months later itll just blow. Im not saying this will happen for sure but can be possible if the engine is internally damaged. If your lucky like me, you can get one for 500 bucks. Ill ask my dad for you how much hell charge for swapping the engines. I can tell you for a fact itll be cheaper than what a shop would charge. My dad is so cheap its unbelievable sometimes. I sometimes tell him why dont you charge more than you? I can tell you this, he takes his time so if hes busy, he can do the swap in 2 weekends. He takes a long time but he loves to do his job right, and rather take his time and do it good, rather than rush and mess up.

[bucksworld]

Originally Posted by mohaughn

BMWs in general are known for the plastic coolant parts failing somewhere around 60-100k miles. Maybe even faster if you live in a warm climate. It is the nature of plastic and it is a service item.

You don't expect BMW to cover all of your radiator hoses and belts do you? Those wear out just the same. After 8 or so years plastic that is constantly getting hot and then cold, hot and then cold will get brittle.

As to why it was not replaced when the other work was done.. Not sure. People usually want the cheapest way to get in and out of the repair shop. Most people seem to wait for these parts to break before fixing them.

Does anyone have pics on these plastic pieces that go bad? I diffidently don't want this to happen to me(blown engine do to over heating). I heard the thermostat housing is plastic?

[bucksworld]

Originally Posted by Tyler

These plastic flanges are behind the engine inbewtween the firewall and the engine. This is not a simple fix since you have to take apart some of the engine to get at the pieces. I had mine replaced when mine crapped out about a year ago and that price sounds about right. BMW should've made these pieces metal instead of plastic maybee the would've held up better.

One member says you got ripped off,not sure if he was meaning the car or what you just had fixed. If he new any better he would realize you did not get ripped off on the price of these repairs. Maybee he/she will understand that once this happens to them.. He should look up the part and read up on what has to be done top get at this part...

Where behind the engine are these plastic pieces or better yet do you have the part numbers or pics? I got 140,000 on my "95TI and never had this issue occur yet. Are we all doomed to have this occur to us?

Forget it...I found it on another thread.....Thanks all

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7937

[bucksworld]

Forget it...I found it on another thread.....Thanks all

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7937
I'll go for removing the intake manifold to get this job done. One, I need all intake gaskets and all heater hoses under intake. It looks like there are three hoses. While I got this intake off; does anyone know if there is anything else I should clean or replace besides those plastic cooling pieces. I might get three bottles of throttle body cleaner and brush to scrub intake. I wonder if there is anything I should do to maybe even the fuel injection system?
Note, this is all preventive maintenance. I don't want to blow my engine or have vacuum leaks or broken cooling hoses. Oh well, this could take all weekend. I hope I'll have a better idle, engine seems to miss at idle slightly.

[rgirl]

smart thinking! I finally got my engine and everything fixed for the low price of $1800.

[cooljess76]

Oh well, lesson learned. Keep a close eye on that needle and if you see it moving, pull over and shut her down asap! Now it's probably time to find another BF, one that knows how to work on cars So now that you're up and running again, is it safe to say that we'll see you at the Socal Ti meet in June?(nod your head, because you are going)